NFL Week 11 Picks: Justin Peelle and the Atlanta Falcons take their NFC-best 7-2 record into St. Louis

View full sizeAP PhotoFormer Oregon tight end Justin Peelle catches a pass for the Atlanta Falcons at Pittsburgh earlier this season.

While the hype machine this season swirled around Dallas, Green Bay, Minnesota and the resurgence of Michael Vick in Philadelphia, it is the Atlanta Falcons who have amassed the best record in the NFC at 7-2 through 10 weeks of action.

The Falcons two defeats came at Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, giving them the most quality losses of any team in the conference.

Atlanta's improvement over last year could be attributed to the growth of third-year quarterback Matt Ryan.

He slipped a bit last year, throwing 22 touchdowns with 16 interceptions. This season he already has 15 touchdown passes with only five interceptions. Consequently, the offense has jumped from being ranked 16th last year to 8th this season.

"We're playing good football, "Atlanta tight end Justin Peelle (Oregon) said. "But I've been in this league long enough to know that where you are after nine weeks doesn't mean much."

WEEK 11 PICKS

Overall: 88-56 (.611)Week 10: 7-7Genius pick: None. What was I thinking?: Houston over Jacksonville: Again the Texans let me down.

Buffalo at CincinnatiCincinnati has lost several close games to good teams. Sunday they get it right against a bad one. Pick: Bengals